Santa Marta Estepona

... only seven suites, Hotel Claude is a stylish little sanctuary in the bustling historic center of Marbella!
This is the place you want to go when you are looking for a quiet and romantic break in an authentic Spanish village, but also perfect for any relaxing long stays if you wish to feel at "home"!! Not a place for those "Nikkie Beach" and "Puro Beach" party animals!!!!

Welcome to the house of Claude

We decided today we would stay in the area and just go driving. We wanted to check out some wineries and take a cave tour. But we didn't get a chance to do either one. The cave tours were 5 hours long. The caves are amazing but not sure Shae would be able to hang that long. my guess is not. And we drove and drove and didn't find one winery. I think we got close one time. But anyway the ride was beautiful and there was a great restaurant in a white village ...

... 1:30pm. (We're definitely getting use to late lunches and late dinners). The restaurant was awesome! Mike enjoyed a leg of lamb which was by far his best meal yet. After lunch, Shae did one more jump and then we toured around the town. It has views from all sides. We headed out and drove to the lake which was also an amazing drive. On the way we found hiking trails so Mike decided it was a perfect place to go for a ...

... find - we headed back up the cliff. We ended up at another great restraunt with a view of the cliffs. This turned out to be one of the better days on the trip. No stress...just taking our time enjoying the sights. I loved the paella so much at lunch we ordered it again for dinner. It was even better. I'm on a role. So far food has been so-so. It's a hit or miss whether you'll get a good meal or not. So far we're about 50-50.

... also visited a bathhouse that I believe is over 500 years old. I think it's really neat how the Muslims appreciated bathing in bathhouses back then. It almost reminds me of the hot springs that we have in Pagosa Springs. We also saw the "Corridor de Toros", which stands where the original ring was first built in all of Spain. Even though I am not a big fan of the idea of bull fights, it was really neat to be there and get an idea of what ...

... bullring. yuck!

We checked our guidebook for a good restaurant and found one with the most amazing views of the cliffs and valley. Food was horrible (except the salads - not sure why but we've had some of the best salads here). We decided to spend the next day in Ronda as well so Mike could get a shot of the cliffs and bridge with the big dog and Shae and I could do a little shopping. Ronda has the cutest shops and cobblestone streets.

Mike was so excited to get up early and go running on one of the many mountain trails surrounding Montejaque...that was until he walked out side of our villa and took 2 steps when a bee stung him. He ran inside and was looking for his epi-pen which was left in the car about a mile away. I took off running down the hill to find the car. You have no idea how steep these streets are. holy ****! I'm totally out of shape. I got the pen and ran back up ...

... t realize they were friends with Lisette's family. Ahh, I guess I have to be on my best behavior...! Our flight was about 45mins delayed until take off, doesn't surprise me! It was an 8 hour flight, which wasn't too bad. May 10, 2008 We arrive in Madrid around 8 AM and when I walk through the airport, it reminded me of Bangkok's Airport. It was very similar with the set up ...

... Sotogrande, which is right by Gibraltar. It's rather beautiful here, and if we walk out to the edge of the rocks by the marina we can just make out the silhouette of Africa! And I think that's quite something. We've spent a good few days here, and now I think it's high time we head off beyond the comfortable couches and satellite television and fling ourselves into the dirty world of backpacking in Europe. (On that note, I've been watching the news and ...

... Dont't get me wrong, there's an old fortress to look around with the obligatory post-card shop at the entrance. But after that it's fairly much a funtional city that even requires the phrase book on occasions. Where was everyone?? Thousands of Brits fly into the airport every month. Was I missing something? I re-read the travel guide...there was a cathedral to see but surely that didn't account for all the missing tourists. There's really not much to ...